Harry Potter and the Veneficus Aura
by Episkey88
Summary: Harry Potter has returned to the Dursley's home following the tragic end to his fifth year. How will Harry cope with the Prophecy? Follow Harry during his sixth year at Hogwart's where he encounters new abilities, new romances, and still finds trouble.
1. Chapter 1: Understanding

**Harry Potter and the Veneficus Aura**

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**A/N: This is my first Harry Potter Fan fiction, and will be a full, novel sized story. I plan on having a new chapter posted every two weeks or so, but it depends on my workload. A little about the story, it takes place after OotP and picks up during the summer between fifth and sixth years. Harry is beginning to cope with the loss of Sirius and the revelations about the Prophecy about he and Voldemort. H/OC (but brief) followed by H/G, R/Hr, RL/NT. I will not follow anything from HBP, but may use some of the miscellaneous info from it. Alright, and here we go...**

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**Chapter 1: Understanding**

Harry Potter looked over at his desk in his hand-me-down room at Number 4 Privet Drive. His clock, brightly displaying the time, was a stark contrast to the black that was his world. 3:17a.m. He did not want to fall back to sleep, if you could even call it that. Every time that he closed his eyes, he woke up tangled in his bed sheets and drenched in a cold sweat no more than a few moments later. Since he had returned from Hogwart's three days ago, he relived the moment Sirius, his godfather, left him every second of his consciousness.

He had lost the rest of his family that night in the Department of Mysteries. First, there was his mum and dad, lost to him nearly fifteen years ago, now his godfather. He was alone. There were the Dursleys of course, but they were further from family than gnargles from truth. Then there were his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. Sure, he was extremely close to them, but they could not replace what he had had with Sirius.

He wanted to blame his godfather for it. Sirius was careless while he was dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange. If it were not for this mistake, Sirius wouldn't have been hit with a Stunner and fallen through the veil. Ultimately, he couldn't place the blame on Sirius; if there was someone to blame it was Harry. It was his fault that Voldemort was able to lure him out of the safety of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If he had only learned Occlumency Sirius would still be with him now and his friends wouldn't have been injured.

With that last thought Harry's eyes closed and he drifted off into a restless sleep.

* * * * * * * * * *

"_Kill the spare!" Voldemort spat to Wormtail._

_And he did just that. Blinding green light flew towards Cedric Diggory and, as the spell hit him, his life instantly dissipated._

* * * * * * * * * *

_Sirius let his guard down for a second and Bellatrix made that second counted as she quickly fired a Stunner at him. The spell hit him right in the chest and Sirius fell through the veil from the strength of the curse._

* * * * * * * * * *

Harry woke up screaming. He reached up to feel his scar and felt a warm liquid trickle down his face. _Great, _he thought to himself, _not only is my sodding scar bleeding, Vernon will be in here at any moment._

Speak of the devil.

Thundering footsteps shook the entire upper floor as Uncle Vernon marched towards Harry's room. His door flew open as his Uncle stood glaring at him with all the hatred in the world.

"Boy! What do you think you're doing making all that racket in the middle of the night! Some people actually have things DO in the morning!" Uncle Vernon seethed at his freak of a nephew.

"Sorry Uncle Vernon. I'll try to keep it down." Harry barely muttered.

"Keep it down? You better not make another sound!" Vernon ordered. And with that, Vernon Dursley stomped out of Harry's room.

That was the first time he'd woken up screaming this summer, if fact, it was the first time Harry had actually fallen asleep and gotten some rest since he'd gotten back from school. It had been four days since Harry departed from his friends and the Order at King's Cross Station. Four whole days.

_Damnit, _Harry screamed silently, _Dumbledore and the Order are going to kill me for forgetting to send them an update on the third day. Actually, the only person who can kill me is Voldemort, _Harry thought cynically.

Harry quickly scrambled for a quill and a piece of parchment to jot down a note that he was just "fine", as he realized that Hedwig hadn't returned from her nightly hunt. He was just going to have to wait until the next morning, and still, it would take Hedwig at least a few hours to fly all the way to Order headquarters at Grimmauld Place. He was definitely going to be in for it, and the worst would be from the Dursleys when a wizard showed up knocking on their pristine home asking for none other than Harry Potter.

* * * * * * * * * *

Albus Dumbledore sat pensively at his comfortable chair in his Headmaster's Office at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the morning of the fourth day since Harry returned to Privet Drive, and he was yet to receive any sort of notification from Harry that all was well. "Well" probably was not the best word to use, but at least that he was "fine". That's how Harry always was, whether he was actually fine or not. He could have just been under the Cruciatus Curse for a few minutes and he would still say that he was fine.

Dumbledore looked around his office. Everything was back to normal since he had told Harry about the Prophecy made by Professor Trelawney, and he was not at all surprised at how Harry reacted. He just lost his godfather and then was told that the fate of the wizarding world was now on his shoulders, shoulders already burdened by too much. Dumbledore didn't regret holding back the Prophecy from Harry for so long. He wanted Harry to have a happy childhood. One filled with friends, practical jokes, and teenage romances. But alas, that was not the case for poor Harry. He never had the opportunity to live a normal life with everything he had been through before and during his time at Hogwarts. No one boy should have to bear this burden.

Dumbledore was pulled from his thoughts as green flames erupted from his Floo and Remus Lupin stepped out of the fireplace.

Remus did not look to well himself. _Sirius' death had taken a toll on him_, Dumbledore mused. He looked unwell and his hair contained more grey than light brown now. His robes were still shabby and tattered in several places. But what stood out most were his eyes, it looked like he hadn't slept at all since Sirius' death, and it didn't help that the full moon was only a couple days ago.

"You wanted to see me Albus." Remus said in a defeated voice.

"Yes Remus, please take a seat. I have yet to hear from Harry, and he was supposed to be sending confirmation on how he was doing every three days. It has been four days since we have heard from him. Would you care to stop by Privet Drive today to make sure he is doing alright?" Albus asked Remus.

"Are you sure that is the best idea? For me to check on Harry?"

"Of course Remus, it would probably do Harry wonders to see you of all people. Someone who understands what he is going through at the moment." If Remus were paying attention, he would have noticed the twinkle in Albus' eyes as he said this.

"You don't think seeing me would cause him to bring up thoughts of that night?" Remus hesitated, referring to the night at the Department of Mysteries.

"Harry is probably thinking of Sirius enough as it is. I doubt that you showing up would worsen his state of grief any further."

Remus nodded, confirming to Dumbledore that he would check on Harry this afternoon.

"Good," Albus replied, "Use Arabella's Floo to get there. No need attracting any unwanted attention by Apparating into the middle of Privet Drive."

With that, Remus walked over to the fireplace and tossed some Floo powder down at his feet and disappeared in an instant.

_Ah, _Dumbledore thought, _Remus and Harry will be good for each other in this time of their lives, to cope with the loss of a friend and godfather._

* * * * * * * * * *

Ron Weasley sat at his desk in his bedroom at the Burrow trying to read an article about his favorite team, the bright orange Chudley Cannons, in the latest edition of _Quidditch Weekly_. He'd been trying to distract himself from Harry and what he must be going through, but not even Quidditch could force himself to forget about his best friend's predicament. Harry was trapped in that hellhole of a house, grieving for the loss of the last connection to his real family.

Ron may be dense at times, but he knew what Sirius meant to Harry. He was Harry's only father figure, and he lost him. Ron knew Harry was blaming himself for the death of Sirius as well. _He's probably thinking right now that if he didn't fall for Vol… You-Know-Who's trap, than Sirius would be alive right now. But how does Harry think he could have seen through the ruddy Dark Lord's trick? He's probably the most powerful wizard alive, even Dumbledore had a hard time matching him at the Ministry of Magic. _

Thinking of Dumbledore led Ron to ponder the day following their battle at the Ministry. Harry had seemed even further away than he had been for most of their fifth year, and that was saying something. Sure, it was partially because of Harry's loss of Sirius, but there was something else there, a new weight that had been added to Harry's shoulders. Ron knew it had something to do with the meeting Harry had with Dumbledore in his office after the battle, but Harry wouldn't tell them a word of what happened in there.

Ron wished that Harry would tell them what occurred that night. He knew that Harry didn't like being pushed though. Hermione, Ron blushed every time he thought about her know, had been sending Ron owls daily pestering him about trying to find out what was bothering Harry, and Ron only knew half of it. He'd been owling Hermione, his cheeks started to flame up again, every day telling her that they should try and give him some space and let him work out his own feelings before butting in. But it had been four days and neither Hermione nor he had heard from Harry since their departure from the Hogwart's Express, and she thought it was time for them to try to get in touch with Harry.

Ron eventually gave in to the willpower of Hermione. _Bloody hell why do I have to get all flustered when I think about her, and since when did I start using the word flustered. Her and her stupid know-it-all-ness must have rubbed off on me at some point in the past five years. _He decided to write Harry a letter today, nothing to pressure him, just to let him know that he was there for his best mate. Thus, Ron began writing his note to Harry, informing him on how poorly the Cannons were doing, but he told him he had a feeling that they were going to make a run for the cup at the end of the season.

As Ron's stomach decided to rumble, he knew it was definitely time for lunch. He quickly finished his letter to Harry and left it on his desk as he ran out the room and tore down the steps to grab some lunch.

"Ronald Weasley, what do you think you are doing making all that noise in the house!" Mrs. Weasley scolded Ron.

"Sorry mum, I'm just hungry. You know, growing boy and all."

Ron was right on that point. Since the beginning of fifth year, he had shot up at least three more inches, officially making him the tallest member of the Weasley family. He just managed to beat the twins out by and inch or so, but the growth spurt left him very gangly. The twins hadn't let him hear the end of it since they stopped by the Burrow the other day, seeing him for the first time since Christmas.

"Oi, George, it looks like our dear brother of ours has finally outgrown us." Fred said.

"Yes, it does appear that way handsome brother of mine."

Ron puffed out his chest in pride after George's compliment.

"Oh," George laughed, "You think I were calling you handsome? No, not in the least bit. I was referring to the dazzling twin of mine."

"Handsome is definitely not the term I'd use to describe you ickle Ronniekins."

"No, you look more like an orangutan." George replied.

"Actually George, I wouldn't be surprised if our little Ron was an orangutan. Just picture one and put it in some Hogwart's school robes and you wouldn't know the difference." Fred teased at a fuming Ron.

"There would be one difference though, and that would be the orangutan not getting a grade of Troll on all of his OWLs."

Thinking of OWLs actually brought Ron to the thought that he could have actually done that poorly on his OWLs. He was dreading the day they would be getting them, but he had at least another two months of peace before he was going to be kicked out of Hogwart's for failing all of his classes.

Mrs. Weasley snapped Ron out of his thoughts and told him to go find Ginny and that lunch would be ready in about ten minutes.

Ron bounded up the stairs two at a time to check to see if Ginny was in her room. He called her name and peeked in her room, but she wasn't there. As he was starting to walk away, something caught his eye and he walked over to her desk. She had written a letter to Harry. It was in an unsealed envelope and had Harry's name on it, so he figured he'd seal it for her and send it with his. He grabbed the letter and went up to his room to grab his as well. He called Pigwidgeon down from the dresser in his room, tied the two letters to his leg and told him to bring them to Harry. Pig was more than happy to oblige and, after the tiny owl calmed down enough, he shot out the window to complete his delivery.

Ron headed back downstairs and quickly plopped himself down in a seat at the kitchen table, hungrily waiting for his lunch.

"Where's your sister?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot, she wasn't in her room." Ron quickly replied.

"Well, I see her now." Mrs. Weasley said while looking out the kitchen window.

Ginny walked into the kitchen and sat down across from Ron, waiting patiently for lunch. Mrs. Weasley set down a tray of sandwiches for the two of them, and they each tucked in while she left to attend to some chores.

"Oh, I sent that letter you had for Harry on your desk." Ron struggled out while eating at the same time.

"You did what!" Ginny screamed, standing up towering over Ron while he was seated.

"I thought I was doing you a favor sending out your letter for Harry." Ron said while quivering. Everyone knew not to get on the bad side of a Weasley woman.

"That wasn't meant for him really. It was private." Ginny said, her face crimson from anger and embarrassment.

"Maybe you shouldn't leave things out like that so they won't be mistaken for something else." Ron said, getting part of his voice back while standing up.

"And maybe you should quit being so nosey and stop snooping around my room, or at least ask before you do something like that, you bloody prat!" Ginny yelled while storming out of the room and up the stairs, slamming the door to her room closed.

"Mental that one is." Ron mumbled to himself.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ginny Weasley tried to calm herself down after the incident with her thickheaded brother. _Stupid prick_, she thought to herself.

Ginny knew there wasn't anything very private in the letter that Ron sent off without her permission. It was more of the fact that she still wasn't very close to Harry and it might be awkward for her to be sending a letter to him, especially during a very sensitive time in his life. How was she supposed to help him through a time where he lost Sirius, his only family? She had barely even talked to him at all last year. Actually, compared to her first three years she did say a lot more; but she still hadn't talked with him for more than five minutes all year.

Sure she had gotten over her fairytale crush over the famous Boy-Who-Lived. No longer did she put her elbows in butter dishes around him, and squeal and flee from the room. She had gotten over that period in her life. She had now dated another guy, Michael Corner, a Ravenclaw that was going into his sixth year. She dumped him because he sulked around after Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in Quidditch. Now there was Dean Thomas, well not really. She just told Ron that to get a rise out of him, and that's exactly what she got. How did her brother think he could control who she dated, or even if she was allowed to date? It wasn't like she was sneaking around in broom cupboards snogging every guy she could get her hands on.

Plus, Harry wasn't that great of a catch nowadays. Of course, he had those striking green eyes and messy black hair, but who would want to be with someone who was always brooding over one thing or another? She had her fair share with Michael Corner, and she definitely knew she couldn't handle Harry.

Despite that, whenever she looked into his eyes, those deep pools of emerald green, her legs felt like they had been hit with a jelly legs jinx. His eyes held so much, and after the battle at the Ministry, they had held so much more. Beyond all the pain that she saw in them, deep down, there was a flicker of hope and defiance. And she wanted to be the one who set that flicker ablaze.

_Snap out of it Ginny_, she thought to herself. _You need to get your feelings under control; you can't go falling for him again. _

* * * * * * * * * *

It was early afternoon and Harry just woke up from another fitful nightmare. He quickly grabbed his trash bin next to his bed and retched. _Great, _he thought to himself, _there goes the only food I've eaten in the past four days._

This was the umpteenth time he's had to relive Cedric's death at the graveyard in Little Hangleton, and once again, it was quickly followed by Sirius falling through the veil.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a loud knocking on the front door. _Probably one of Aunt Petunia's "friends" stopping by to compliment her on one of the many pristine features of the house, _Harry sarcastically thought. He was quickly surprised as he heard his Aunt shriek and someone trying to calm her down.

Harry quickly ran out of his room with his wand in hand and looked down the stairs to see none other than Professor Lupin. Harry was surprised by his presence, not by one of the Order members showing up to check on him, but by how horrible Lupin actually looked. Thinking quickly, Harry decided to walk down the stairs to intercept a shouting match that he knew Petunia was about to start.

"What is one of your kind doing in my house?" Petunia questioned Harry angrily. Her face was scowling, probably believing that Professor Lupin could dirty her house with magic just by being there.

But before Harry could start, Remus interjected, "As you well know from our meeting at King's Cross Station, we told you that we would be checking up on Harry periodically. And since we hadn't heard from him in four days, we thought it prudent to see how he was doing."

Petunia turned around and quickly stormed out of the front room towards the kitchen.

Harry couldn't help the smirk that came to his face due to Petunia being put in her place. Now that he thought about it, that was the first time he had smiled since the night at the Ministry of Magic. With that one thought, Harry's smirk became a scowl.

Remus looked over at Harry the moment he scowled and quickly thought he was the cause of it. _Today couldn't have started out any better, _Remus thought. _Harry doesn't even want me here. I'll try to make it quick so I don't bother him too much. Just make sure the Dursley's are treating him right. _

"Harry, I just came to check up on you. We hadn't received your owl telling us how you've been doing so I was sent to make sure you were doing all right," Remus shot out quickly and found something to look at in the room other than Harry.

"Oh, I'm just doing great. You know, lost my godfather and all; and to almost top that, I led five of my friends to near death."

_This couldn't have started out any better, _Remus thought to himself.

Harry quickly saw the pained expression that crossed Professor Lupin's face, "I'm sorry Professor, it has been a little rough for me the past few days. Sorry for letting it out on you, but you're the first contact I've had other than Hedwig and she flew off after I yelled at her."

"First off Harry, I'm not your Professor any longer. Just call me Remus. And don't worry about blowing up on me, I understand where you're coming from."

Harry quickly took in the fact that he was not the only one suffering from Sirius' death. He had been best friends with him, and was now the last Marauder remaining. _Wormtail, _Harry spat silently, _was no where near being included with his father, Sirius, and Prof…Remus. That was going to take some getting used to._

"Sorry, I kinda forgot that I'm not the only one suffering from Sirius' loss," Harry said, eyes looking at his trainers.

"Do you want to go out for a walk, Harry?" Remus questioned quietly.

Harry thought this over for a moment, causing Remus to become slightly nervous. In the end, Harry agreed and they both walked out the door onto Privet Drive. Harry quickly squinted his eyes, not seeing the sun for days after being stuck in the darkness of his room made the world seem a lot brighter. He lead the way, as he knew where he was going, and walked in silence towards the park not far from the Dursley's home. When they arrived, Harry and Remus sat down on a bench overlooking the park and its occupants. Most of the parents scooted their children away from the two of them, throwing curious and warning glances their way due to their less than normal appearance.

Remus took this time to look over at Harry, and it was quite obvious he was suffering as well. His mother's eyes that normally shone a spectacular green were dulled down and seemed distant and haunted, the black rings surrounding them added to their deathlike appearance. It was clear he hadn't sleep peacefully in a while. He looked thinner too. Not even Dudley's hand me down clothes could hide that fact. Harry's overly large shirt hung on him like a potato sack and his pants were held up by a shoelace that had been tied around like a belt. The pants were also too short for him now, coming down to only mid-shin. Harry was almost as tall as Remus.

Remus decided it was time to break the silence. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry knew what the "it" meant, but couldn't bring himself to utter a single response. Every time he thought about "it", he would break down and cry. He tried to stay strong and not show this weakness in front of Remus, but a few tears escaped before he could wipe them away.

Remus saw the tears and wished he hadn't. How was he supposed to comfort Harry in his time of grief? He had no experience being a father figure. Now that he thought of it, neither did Sirius. How did Sirius learn to take the place of Harry's father? Sirius definitely had no experience in that department. After debating internally for a few moments, Remus became determined to help Harry through this rough time.

Remus put his arm around Harry's shoulders, and that was all that Harry needed. He latched on to Remus like his life depended on it, and the dam finally broke. Harry's eyes were overflowing with tears from the loss of Sirius and years of neglection and suffering. Remus put both of his arms around the young boy and held him just as tight.

After several minutes, Harry let go and pulled away from Remus, keeping his head down. "Sorry for breaking down on you and all," he muttered, "and for getting your shirt all wet too."

Remus placed is hand under Harry's chin and lifted it up. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Harry. It's not your fault."

"Not my fault. Of course it was my fault. It was my mistake, falling for Voldemort's trap, and my fault that Sirius died." Harry tried to pull his face away, but Remus wouldn't let him.

"Don't let me ever here you say that again. It was not your fault, no matter what you think. Sirius wouldn't want you to blame yourself at all. Hell, it was Voldemort's fault that Sirius died. It was Bellatrix Lestrange's fault that he died. You could say it was Sirius' goofing around that got him killed. But, whatever you might think, it was not your fault. The only thing you could ever possibly be at fault for is caring too much. You cannot blame yourself for this." Remus said sincerely while keeping contact with Harry's eyes.

"But if I hadn't…"

Remus interrupted, "If you hadn't what, gone to the Ministry to save Sirius? You checked to confirm that Sirius wasn't at Grimmauld Place, and Kreacher lied to you. You tried to make sure that Sirius wasn't kidnapped, but everything pointed that direction. If you didn't act on it and it actually was real, Sirius would have been dead anyway. You saw what happened to Arthur Weasley and related that to your vision that Voldemort implanted. It's not your fault, do you understand me?"

Harry quickly threw his arms around Remus, and he returned the gesture. It was at that moment that both of them realized it was going to be alright, that they would make it through all of this.

* * * * * * * * * *

A/N: So that's the end to the first chapter. I was never a fan of the moody, brooding Harry, so I wanted to try and resolve that quickly. Don't worry, Harry isn't so emotionally detached that Sirius' death doesn't still affect him. Remember, love is one of Harry's greatest abilities. Next chapter will begin to pick up the pace with a trip to Muggle London and Diagon Alley with Remus, Tonks, and Harry. Thanks, please R/R!


	2. Chapter 2: Banking

**_*** Sorry, for the monstrous delay. I got busy with school and work, but now I'm staying a chapter ahead and there will be updates every 7 to 10 days. ***_**

Chapter 2

After Harry's talk with Remus, he was in much higher spirits. Not necessarily back to normal, but he was well on his way to being there. Talking with Remus helped him clear up a lot of things. Harry was able to move past his previous feelings of him being responsible for Sirius' death and accept that it was Voldemort's fault. Still, he wasn't entirely able to get over Sirius' death and whenever he closed his eyes, he still saw Sirius.

Abruptly, two owls barreled through his open window, into his room. One was Hedwig, his snowy owl, to whom he immediately apologized for his earlier outburst and gave an owl treat. She nipped his ear affectionately and perched on his shoulder. The other owl, a much smaller one, flew around excitedly before Harry was able to snatch him out of the air like a Snitch. Now that he got a hold of Pigwidgeon, he was able to take off the two letters attached to his leg.

One was from Ron, he could tell by the messy scrawl on the envelope of the letter. The second one Harry did not recognize. He knew it wasn't Hermione and couldn't think of anyone else who would write to him. He opened Ron's letter first.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope those Dursley's are treating you alright, feeding you and all. Mum will go ballistic if you she sees you and you're all "peaky". So make sure you eat._

_How's your summer been so far? I know you've probably been better and if you ever need to talk or something like that, I'm here for you, mate. _

_The Cannons aren't doing too well, but I'm pretty sure they'll be able to make a run for the cup if they can win out the rest of the season. They just got this new seeker who looks like he's going to be brilliant. Small and wiry and he can really cut turns. You had better hope you don't grow anymore, don't want to be too big to play seeker, and I don't want to have to move you to beater or anything._

_Hermione is going crazy. She has already made a calendar so we can start reviewing for NEWTs. NEWTs Harry! NEWTs don't start for another two years and you know when the schedules started? The day we got off the Hogwarts Express! She's mental to think we should start studying now._

_Anyways, write back._

_Ron_

Now that Harry thought about it, he hadn't eaten since he got back from Hogwarts. He quickly walked downstairs to the kitchen hoping beyond all hope that none of the Dursleys were in there. Today must have been his lucky day because he didn't find a single Dursley in the kitchen. He quickly made himself a few sandwiches so that he could have one now for lunch and some more later for dinner. He didn't feel like running into the Dursleys' later either.

As he got back to his room, he read over Ron's letter again. This was the typical letter from Ron, and that wasn't a bad thing. Always talking about food and Quidditch and Hermione. When would those two come to their senses and realize the feelings they've been tiptoeing around for the past couple years. One thing, however, was different in the letter; Ron actually sensed how Harry was really doing. He didn't pry or anything like Hermione might do, he offered to listen whenever he was ready or needed an ear. It was clear that Ron was maturing some.

The other letter caught Harry's attention again. Who in the world could it be from? He quickly opened the letter and saw it was from Ginny. This thoroughly confused Harry. Why would Ginny be writing to him? Sure, they talked some last year, easily more than ever before, but why would she be writing him a letter? Harry pondered this and then began reading.

_Dear Harry,_

_I know you may find it weird that I'm writing to you. I kind of feel the same way. We never really talked that much. My first few years I could barely stand in the same room as you, but I promise my butter dish days are over. The past two years you were just too busy, your fourth year with the TriWizard tournament, and fifth year you were just all moody and always brooding. No offense, I'm just telling the truth._

_Things at the Burrow are the same as always. Mum is going crazy, Dad's already crazy, and Ron is love struck with a brainy Gryffindor. It's pathetic really, any time her name is mentioned; he instantly begins to blush a shade only a Weasley could. Those two just need to get together and have a good snog. Maybe they won't bicker as much all the time._

_I know things must be difficult for you, but chin up Mr. Potter. Nobody wants to deal with you when you're sulking like a certain Potions Master. _

_I'm here if you need anything. To talk or just write to over the summer. Just don't bottle everything up like you normally do, and I think you'll end up fine by summer's end._

_Yours truly,_

_Ginny_

"Wow." That's all Harry could say. He never thought he would get a letter from anyone but Ron and Hermione, maybe Mrs. Weasley sending him a mince pie or something like that. But Ginny?

Even more surprising was the fact that she was able to pin him so well. He always thought he was able to keep his composure most of the time and not give anything away. But boy was he wrong when it came to her. He was also shocked that she said Hermione and Ron should have a good snog. That definitely wasn't the innocent little Ginny Weasley that he had saved in the Chamber of Secrets. She had definitely grown up over the years; he just never took the time to notice. He always just saw her as Ron's little sister, but he'd definitely try to change that.

With that thought, Harry grabbed a quill and some parchment and began writing his reply to Ginny. He looked for Pig, but he had already started his flight back to the Burrow. Harry called Hedwig over and attached his letters to Ginny and Ron to her leg. Hedwig nipped Harry's fingers and flew out to deliver his letters.

Harry decided he might as well start on some of his schoolwork assigned over the break. He went over to his trunk, grabbed his Transfiguration book, and began his essay on the Animagus transformation. _This,_ Harry thought sadly,_ was going to take a while._

_* * * * * * * * * *_

Remus returned to Grimmauld Place the afternoon after his check-up on Harry. Things could not have started any worse than they did, but they turned around rather quickly. Harry was able to open up to him, and Remus was able to support Harry when he needed it. He was also able to get through Harry's emotional barriers, helping him come to terms with Sirius' death and realize that it wasn't his fault. This also helped Remus cope with his own loss of Sirius, he had lost his best mate once before, and was a wreck then, but this would have been unbearable without someone there to help him pull through. Now Remus had Harry and Harry had Remus. Things were looking brighter indeed.

As he strolled into Headquarters with a slight spring in his step, thinking about what had just transpired, he ran straight into a similarly inattentive Tonks. Remus hit the ground and Tonks crashed right down on top of him.

"Wotcher, Remus!" Tonks said cheerfully while lying on top of Remus.

"Um, hey, Tonks." Remus stuttered out.

"Don't tell me I've gotten the old wolf all flustered now," Tonks grinned down at him deviously.

"Um, no, well, yes, well…"

Tonks stood up and offered Remus her hand, which he graciously took as she helped him up off the floor. Remus was still a little flustered, a slight pink tinge on his cheeks.

"Not every day you get to embarrass a Professor." Tonks teased. "How did things go with Harry?"

"Well, they started off a little rocky, but we were able to get through it. He seemed better by the end of our talk."

"Aw, well that sounds great. How did he look? Did it look like he had been eating and sleeping regularly?"

Remus thought for a moment in silence. "He has definitely looked much better and it doesn't help that he was wearing those hand me down clothes that are much too big for him."

Tonks expression became very dimmed as Remus described how Harry was doing, her hair cycled wildly from a bright bubblegum pink to a dreary grey as Remus continued. All of a sudden, she looked like a light went off in her head and her hair instantly returned to its prior brightness.

"I've got it!" Tonks exclaimed. "Why don't we take Harry shopping for some new clothes and stuff?"

Remus' eyes shone with this thought, _Harry could definitely use some new clothes and it would be good for him to be around people that cared for him. Not to mention I'd get to spend the entire day with Tonks as well._ Remus began to grin at the thought.

"I'll take that as a yes."

And with that, Remus quickly sent Harry an owl seeing if he'd be okay with meeting up tomorrow for lunch and then take a shopping trip with him and Tonks.

* * * * * * * * * *

Harry finished his Transfiguration essay on the Animagus transformation, baffled at the complexity of the entire process. How his father and Sirius were able to transform without any help from professors baffled Harry to no end. The immense amount of concentration that it took to merely discover that you could even have the opportunity to be an Animagus took months of insight into ones mind to find where the ability lay dormant. Then, one would have to study the anatomy of the creature until it was known as a second nature, and instinctively. After that, one begins a rigorous process of slowly transforming each part of your body into the homologous part of the creature. But the worst part is that unlike a normal Transfiguration, the Animagus transformation breaks the bones and reforms muscle tissue to match that of the desired creature the first time it is attempted. This is one of the reasons that many people do not even want to attempt to become Animagi. The sheer pain alone is comparable to that of the Cruciatus curse.

Harry knew one thing for sure, becoming an Animagus would be one of the most beneficial skills that he could acquire. It would allow him to move around almost undetected, escape from dire and dangerous situations, and could become a formidable weapon for him to use. He knew that this must be one skill he needed to learn over the upcoming year. And one thing that would help him discover his Animagus form would be Occlumency.

Harry shivered at this thought. His only experiences with Occlumency had been awful at best, especially since they had been with Snape. Snape didn't even try to help Harry learn Occlumency; all he did was try to pry into his mind. No instructions were given other than "Clear your mind". How in the hell was that supposed to help. That had to be the most vague description one could get. It would be like telling a person learning to operate on someone to cut carefully. Not only would Occlumency help advance his Animagus training, it would help protect his mind from Voldemort's intrusions and control his emotions.

Harry looked over at his clock again and saw that it was just past eleven o'clock. It was nearly time for him to go to sleep, and he was exhausted to say the least. He still was barely able to catch any sleep. As he was getting ready to lie down, Hedwig glided through the window and dropped a letter onto Harry's lap. He quickly opened the letter, seeing that it was from Remus, and read over it. Tomorrow Remus was stopping by with Tonks to take him out, but nothing else was revealed in the short note.

He tried to go to sleep after reading the letter, but it would not come to him. Every time he would close his eyes, his memory of the Department of Mysteries would replay before him and would always show Sirius' death in agonizingly slow motion. Something that occurred in seconds seemed to never pass by. Knowing that sleep was impossible, Harry got out of his bed and tried to find something to keep his mind occupied. He returned to doing more of his schoolwork, and when he got tired of that, he decided to read through some of the books he had.

Hours passed by as Harry continued being absorbed in the books. He never imagined that he would be reading through books over the summer, but somehow he was unable to stop. Maybe it was because it was a distraction from the tragedy of his own life, or maybe he actually enjoyed it_. Scratch that second part_, Harry thought to himself, _he was no Hermione, and rarely enjoyed reading._ But maybe something was changing within him. Maybe something finally clicked. Maybe he somehow unconsciously realized that his fate relied on him becoming as skilled and prepared as he could be for his final showdown with Voldemort. Now something really clicked inside Harry. He knew there was no way that he would survive another meeting with Voldemort if he wasn't better trained and prepared. With that realization, Harry began reading again. Taking notes on every spell he encountered, every jinx, every charm.

This continued into the morning, until he felt the house beginning to rattle as Vernon woke up. Wanting to be able to grab a quick bite to eat before the Dursleys ravaged the kitchen and left no food for him, Harry scrambled down the stairs and grabbed a glass of juice and fixed some toast real quick and hurried back up to his room. Harry quickly scarfed down his breakfast and continued the task he set before himself.

Before long, the sun rose high into the sky and Harry heard a knock on the door. _Crap, _Harry thought, _I forgot to tell the Dursleys about Remus and Tonks stopping by. _Harry ran down the stairs to get to the door before any of the Dursleys and swung the door open real quick and closed it behind him as fast as it was opened. Before Remus and Tonks could get a word in, Harry ushered them down the path to the sidewalk and along the street out of the view of the Dursleys.

"Sorry about that. I forgot to tell the Dursleys about you two stopping by this afternoon." Harry rattled off quickly.

Remus and Tonks quickly took in Harry's appearance. He looked exhausted physically with dark rings under his eyes and a slouched posture, but his actual eyes seemed to hold a light of hope within them. They were greener than they had been in a little over a year, but that still did not hide that deep down Harry was still suffering from the death of Sirius.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said trying to wake Harry up a bit, "Are you ready for our little adventure?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Harry didn't seem to be too enthused. He seemed to be waiting to discover where this "adventure" would lead him. "So where are we going?"

"Well, I was hoping you would ask," a faint smile playing on Remus' lips. "First where headed to Diagon Alley to stop at Gringotts so you can have some walking around money, and then Tonks' is taking us shopping."

Harry's face began to light up; he had never done any shopping for anything other than school supplies. His possibilities seemed endless now. He never thought about going shopping for leisure before, and that pushed away the thoughts that have been clouding his mind over the past few weeks.

"I can't wait. I've never really been shopping before." Harry said.

"Well, you're in for a treat now aren't ya Harry. You get to go shopping with none other than your favorite Auror Tonks," Tonks glowing the whole time.

Harry and Remus took a second to look over Tonks. Her hair was _her_ normal bubblegum pink, and she appeared to be wearing some of the most mismatched clothes one could have put together. She was wearing what appeared to be a violently purple leather jacket, with an orange Weird Sisters shirt underneath. Making the whole outfit worse though, was her lime green pants. How anyone could go out in public wearing that, Harry and Remus didn't know. Well, it did help probably that she could change her appearance at will.

"Well, are you two ready to go or are you going to continue standing there with that blank look on your face?" Tonks questioned seeing Harry and Remus with those looks on their faces.

Harry quickly snapped out of his trance, "Uh, yeah. I'm ready to go."

And with that, Remus lifted his wand into the air and a huge, purple double-decker bus screeched to a halt right next to them. _Great, _Harry sarcastically thought to himself, _this is gonna be one fun ride._

The Knight Bus stopped on a dime in front of The Leaky Cauldron, and Harry, Remus and Tonks stumbled off the bus after paying their fare.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that." Tonks slurred.

"Yea, that must not help your balance issues either." Harry playfully chided.

Tonks playfully knocked Harry over the head. "You better watch your mouth, Potter." Tonks said in a mock stern tone.

The three of them walked through The Leaky Cauldron, and the patrons' noticed the instant Harry's presence whispers and stares locked onto him. Remus and Tonks quickly ushered Harry through The Leaky Cauldron to the brick wall that hid the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Great," Remus sighed. "Now we need a way to disguise you a bit. Dumbledore mentioned that such a situation would arise. We can't just have you walking around in the open when a certain dark wizard wants you out of the picture."

And with that Remus began to transfigure Harry so that he may not be as recognizable. First, Harry's oversized t-shirt became a long, grey cloak. His hair was no longer a raven black, now it was a chestnut brown. Last, but not least, Remus transfigured Harry's glasses to a square frame.

"Now that looks a little better. From a distance no one will really be able to tell who you are." Remus said looking at Harry, inspecting his work.

"Yea," Tonks said, "I don't think much more could have really been done without using a Polyjuice Potion."

Harry quickly thought back to his Transfiguration textbook on human transfiguration. The book stated, _Human transfigurations are difficult and do not yield lasting permanent results. These effects last only for a limited amount of time depending on the expertise of the caster. Human transfigurations also limit what can be done to the body. Actual body shape cannot be changed using spells, only coloring, such as changing ones hair color. The only way one can effectively change body shape and parts is through being a Metamorphogous, see page 756, or by the use of a Polyjuice Potion. _Harry's eyes went blank for a moment. How in the world was he able to remember all that? Was he turning into Hermione or something?

Remus and Tonks snapped Harry out of his daze and the brick wall began to open into an entrance to Diagon Alley. One thing was for sure; there were not that many people out and about. The normal life and activity that Harry had known give life to the alley seemed to be entirely gone. As the three of them walked down the alley, Harry noticed that a few of the shops were closed up with boarded windows and various enchantments protecting the shops.

"Wow," Remus whispered, "I don't think I've seen Diagon Alley this empty since the First War."

"It's just astounding that there are so few people here. You-Know-Who has clearly re-instilled a fear that was hiding in people's memories. This is only going to make things easier for him."

Harry didn't say anything; he was just listening and discovering their insight about the oncoming war. Before they knew it, they had made it all the way to the steps of Gringotts, towering over the rest of Diagon Alley. As they entered, Harry noticed the engraving on the doors like he always did:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Harry had heard rumors of what might be lurking in the deep vaults of the ancient bank. According to Ron, they had dragons to protect some of the most important vaults. Even worse than dragons, was the possibility that a Nundu had been rumored as well to be guarding other important vaults. Harry shook at the thought; a giant leopard whose breath can kill a man could possibly be thousands of feet below him. How the goblins captured one still baffled him, as Hagrid had once mentioned it as the most dangerous creature in existence and no less than one-hundred wizards could even attempt to subdue one.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, we've been expecting you to be stopping by soon." A goblin at one of the counters drawled out.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts as the goblins words broke through his thoughts.

"Uh, hello. I'd like to withdraw some money from my vault, if that wouldn't be a problem?" Harry asked baffled at how the goblin recognized him.

"Your key, Mr. Potter," the goblin stated.

Harry rummaged through his pockets hoping that his vault key was in his pocket, and luckily enough it was.

"Here it is, sir," and Harry handed his key over to the goblin.

"Well, everything seems to be in order. Except for one thing…" the goblin paused, rummaging through some papers. "Yes, here it is. We have a minor complication, Mr. Potter. It appears as if you do not have enough room in either of your vaults, numbers 687 and 711, to hold all of your assets. We need to move you to another vault, one lower down."

Harry's mind started reeling. How in the world could he have two vaults now? And how in the world could neither of them contain all of his "assets"? Finally something clicked inside him, Sirius…

Remus quickly saw Harry's changed expression, and intercepted the conversation with the goblin.

"Why were these assets added?" Remus questioned.

"Mr. Lupin isn't it," Remus nodded. "In accordance with one Sirius Black's will, half of his assets were to be divided evenly between Harry Potter and Remus Lupin. Also, the Black Family Home is to go to Remus Lupin as well."

Remus' face went blank. He had never really had any money, and never had a true home. Now he had both, and that shaggy black dog was to blame. Sirius knew how to stir things up even from the grave. His mind went blank for a moment; this was when he truly new that Sirius was gone and never coming back. Remus was the last of the true Marauders. Only he was left, a lone wolf.

Harry came back to the real world after being lost in his thoughts. He was too pained to actually go down to wherever his new vault was to be located. He couldn't bear to see anything relating to Sirius.

"Is there anyway I could just take out some money here instead of going down to my new vault?" Harry mumbled out. At the moment, Harry wasn't ready to see some of Sirius' things. He needed more time still.

"Absolutely, Mr. Potter," the goblin stated. "We here at Gringotts actually offer a small service to some of our _substantial _clients." The goblin reached behind the counter and pulled out what seemed to be a small, deep green money pouch, about the size of the palm of Harry's hand. "This here, Mr. Potter, is our handcrafted money pouch. It has been enchanted so that you can access all of your funds from the pouch. You can just reach in and take out as much as you need. It is made from the hide of the Common Welsh Green dragon to make it neary immune to simple summoning spells and other thieving acts, and crafted in such a way that makes it as soft as silk. But every withdrawal you make costs a small fee, an amount insignificant compared to your current wealth."

Harry, just as curious as every teenager, asked, "How much money do I have in my vault?"

"Well, according to our current count as of the merging of the Potter and Black funds, your total comes to 18,458,232 galleons, 6 sickles and 4 knuts."

Harry's eyes opened in shock. He knew that he had money, just not that much.

"Um, is there any way that I could change some galleons for some muggle pounds?" Harry asked so that he could have some money for the afternoon of shopping ahead of him.

"Yes, not a problem Mr. Potter." The goblin handed him his money pouch. "Just reach into the pouch and pull out however much you want to convert."

Harry untied the top of the money pouch and reached in feeling around for some galleons. Eventually, Harry had withdrawn 500 galleons and the goblin handed over 2,500 pounds to him. Harry pocketed the muggle pounds into his jeans so he wouldn't mix it up with all of his wizard money. He attached the money pouch to his belt loop, and was thanking the goblin ready to go until he remembered one thing.

"Oh, um, what is my new vault number, sir?"

"731, Mr. Potter," the goblin said matter of factly.

"Thanks, for everything Mr…." Harry was waiting for his blank to be filled in.

"Ragnok." The goblin gave a toothy smile as Harry nodded and walked out of Gringotts with Tonks and Remus in tow.

As they were walking out, Harry thought back to both his new vault number and the goblin's name. It was just so bizarre that his vault number was the same as his birthday. Though, it did make sense seeing as the further down you go in the vaults the larger the number and vault size. His old vault number was 472, and he did recall seeing the size of Vault 713 when he was with Hagrid his first year. His new vault must be huge to hold all his money. He had over _18,000,000_ galleons.

Ragnok also triggered a memory inside Harry. He was the goblin that Bill Weasley had worked with for some time. Apparently Bill was trying to convince Ragnok to support Dumbledore, and came to little success. It seemed that the goblins couldn't be swayed with just words.

"Harry, so where to now?" Remus asked, he must have finally snapped out of his own daydreaming while in wizarding bank.

"Well, I'd like to go to Flourish and Blotts to pick up some books to help me out over the summer, and then maybe Madam Malkin's to pick up some new robes. I kinda think I've grown out of all of mine."

And that couldn't have been truer. Harry seemed to have grown several inches over the past years. He was still a few inches behind Ron, but he was no squirt.

Harry, Remus and Tonks wandered into the bookstore so that Harry could find whatever he was looking for. Immediately, Harry became swamped in towering shelves of books that stopped off mere millimeters from the ceiling. There were books on everything, literally. He saw books on dragons, books on daily housing charms, and books on how to perform "private" prevention charms. Finally, Harry walked into the section he was looking for, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry quickly began filling his arms with every book in reach. He didn't want to miss anything, and wanted to be prepared for the worst. After Harry grabbed as much as he could, he placed them on the counter and went in search of a few Transfiguration and Charms books. Harry returned to the counter and the clerk quickly checked him out. He reached into his pouch and Harry gave the clerk the correct change and grabbed his bags. Quickly, Harry realized that there was no way he was going to be able to carry the bags, he must have purchased at least twenty different books. Remus and Tonks came to his rescue, performing a few shrinking and lightening charms and Harry was able to fit it all in his pockets.

"I'm so excited," Tonks was jittering with excitement, "I can't wait to help you pick out some new robes."

Harry and Remus eyed each other wearily, this could turn out to be a disaster.


End file.
